It appears that Apple shares are remaining flat today even with the release of the iPhone 4S last Friday and sales of the new device staying strong through the weekend. Analysts are not entirely surprised though, figuring that Apple already got their share price mileage out of the iPhone upgrade even before the launch.

Colin Gillis, a high-profile analyst rationalizes the decision to hold instead of buy AAPL shares by saying that “We no longer suggest being overweight shares of AAPL and see that near-term downside risk overweighs upside reward. Shares have gained 14% since October 7, and increased 31% year-to-date. With the largest market capitalization for a U.S based company at $391 billion, any hiccup in its growth is likely to provide an opportunity to add to positions at a better price.”

If I read between the lines on what these analysts are saying, it seems that Apple is doing well and expected to continue doing well. They weathered the storm of Jobs’ death and Cook taking over and seem to be doing fine after releasing an ‘underwhelming’ Apple 4S (in lieu of an Apple 5) upgrade to their successful smartphone, and so there are no perceived bumps in the road for Apple right now. This should (-should-) mean that stock prices remain steady which isn’t the best time to buy or to sell.

Now before people start to panic or start ordering the execution of analysts who dare say anything bad about Apple, I think it more an exercise in caution as we approach the next quarter to see how all of the balls in the air end up landing. As Gillis suggests, analysts are looking to see how the iPhone 4S fares in the long run as well as how the iPad 2 continues to sell through the final quarter of this year and through the holiday season. There is some mention of educational pricing and sales impacting sales figures, but as a layperson I am not sure how to interpret these numbers as a risk against stock prices –but sufficed to say they are being watched.